Best Practices: Energy Management
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In an effort to reduce energy costs, Lincoln Industries created an Energy Team. Effectively reducing the company’s extensive energy usage is one of the main reasons the company enjoyed a profitable first quarter of its fiscal year.
Many companies recognize the costs of utilities and how they affect the bottom line of a business. Lincoln Industries decided to implement a team to focus on improvements. “Our team has implemented several programs to help reduce costs,” says Senior Continuous Improvement Specialist Tom Schifsky. “Our success is because people from throughout our company have supported these efforts.”
The team was created at the beginning of the fiscal year in October and has already realized significant savings. Some of the most significant savings occurred in December.
Many steps have been taken to conserve energy including the installation of plastic curtains on the receiving dock, fixing air leaks throughout the facility and changing out end-of-line steam traps. These actions will result in savings throughout the year, not just during cold weather months.
Schifsky says, “The key message is that by doing a lot of small things, big savings can be realized. The most important factor is for people to take ownership in their own areas of influence and then leading the efforts to make positive changes.”